Author Topic: I need a laptop/notebook...Suggestions?? (Read 8580 times)

aznangelx14 · « **on:** February 09, 2007, 07:44:44 PM »

Hey everyone, I was just wondering wut type of laptop would be recommended and affordable at da same time?? I'm not much of a computer person but I need one for work but can't decide on what to buy...I dunt have much money so i limit ma amount to 500...if it goez a lil higher itz fine...Any Suggestions?? THX EVERY1

Yuna · « **Reply #1 on:** February 28, 2007, 04:35:10 PM »

Is it just for work or gaming too ? And you should consider too buy something great or not taking into consideration the area of the world you live. I live in South America and buying a laptop here is A LOT expensive, but a friend of mine just came back from australia and bought a laptop, there he bought an awesome machine for a cheaper price than the better ones avaliable where I live.
If you have someone who can bring one for you from a cheap place around the globe I suggest you buy something really good, but if it's just for work I wouldn't suggest you buying something beyond extraodinary.

As for processors, you can buy anything and be happy as long as it is not a CELERON. People that don't understand of computers think it is good because they see that Intel logo and everything, but only the Pentium is good, CELERON is the worst thing you can buy in terms of computer.
If you're into saving money a SEMPRON wouldn't be a bad choice.
but wanting something more powerful and PENTIUM 4 and a ATHLON would be the best choice.

I don't know if I was a bit confusing but I hope I helped a bit.

NAzu · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2007, 07:28:27 PM »

Quote from: Yuna;319316

...As for processors, you can buy anything and be happy as long as it is not a CELERON. People that don't understand of computers think it is good because they see that Intel logo and everything, but only the Pentium is good, CELERON is the worst thing you can buy in terms of computer.
If you're into saving money a SEMPRON wouldn't be a bad choice.
but wanting something more powerful and PENTIUM 4 and a ATHLON would be the best choice.

I don't know if I was a bit confusing but I hope I helped a bit.

Let's get few things right in here.
a) There are two kind of Celerons. The desktop models which use the Northwood core and are very crappy as you said. They heat a lot and battery life isn't the best with these laptops. The other one is a Celeron Mobile which is a totally different architecture cpu and is based on the Pentium Mobile which is a great cpu for a laptop. Good performance and low power consumption. Celeron Mobile has half of the L2 that P-M has so it's 512KB or 1MB l2 cache usually in these cpu's.
b) Sempron's are good for budget desktop computers but not for laptops. They heat quite a lot and consume power more than Celeron Mobile. Also performance is weaker.
c) Pentium 4 or A64 is the crappiest cpu that you can put in a laptop. They consume a LOT of power and heat like oven's. That's because they are desktop cpu's and haven't been tweaked for a laptop use. Also they don't have the power saving technologies like Pentium Mobile does (for example speedstep)
d) Best laptop cpu at the moment is Core 2 Duo or the older model Core Duo. Dual core cpu's, they don't heat much and great performance.

Ok so there you have a few things to look for in laptop cpu. Obviously you have a quite tight budget so a Celeron Mobile laptop would be the best choice. I would recommend looking for some HP's cheaper models. They have decent quality and performance.

chera · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2007, 09:49:49 PM »

At the $500 range, you should be able to find some good deals on the IBM Thinkpad R52/R51/R50, either new or used. In the US, the R52 has been dropped from the line, in favor for the R60, but you should still be able to find new-in-box units from resellers/retailers, and there are plenty of Thinkpads in the 2nd hand market.

These are solid reliable laptops. For the R52, expect a Pentium M processor at around 1.8Ghz, 512-1GB of RAM, 40-60GB of HDD, and a 14"-15" LCD. Most lower-end models have integrated graphics, though, so don't expect too much from Vista Aero. The higher-end models should run Aero with no problem though. This model has all of the nice Thinkpad features: motion sensor that locks your hard drive if you drop the laptop, trackpad + touchpoint, factory pre-installed system recovery software in a hidden drive partition, great keyboard. Some models will have a fingerprint scanner, which I think is completely useless.

You might also be interested in the R52e, which is a budget version of the R52 that doesn't contain a trackpad. The R52 is about 1/1.5 generations behind the current generation R60 (which contains Core Duo/Core 2 Duo processors). It's one generation above the R40, which contains Pentium M processors in the 1.3Ghz range, but has pretty much the same feature-set and can be had at even better prices than R52s. I wouldn't go any lower than the R40 - the R30, which contains <1Ghz Celerons only USB1 ports (no USB2).

The R-series will contain better deals than the T-series, which is aimed at business users and is thinner and more expensive.

Disclaimer: I'm typing this on a 2nd hand Thinkpad R52 which I got for $550 about a year ago, which I loaded up with 1.5GB of RAM and a 160GB HDD which I got for an additional $210. I've been using Thinkpads almost exclusively for the past 10 years.

NAzu · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2007, 10:15:55 PM »

Second hand IBM T40/T41 are also worth looking for. T series has more rigid chassis as it's magnesium alloy. Also they are more portable and thinner as chera said. I bought a second hand T41 while ago (P-M 1.6GHz, 1GB, R9000, 14.1" 1400x1050 SXGA+ etc) and It's great. I would look for T4x series thinkpads with 1.5GHz-> cpu's and 512MB ram.

ctz · « **Reply #5 on:** April 06, 2007, 01:29:52 PM »

I bought my Acer Dual core AMD Turion almost a year ago.

I made some mistakes... I thought battery life isn't so important... even an hour is enough, I won't use it places without electricity anyway. WRONG! Now my battery is dying everytime I really need it, and it's far from electricity.

Another thing, If you want your laptop is portable, don't buy a big one! Some extra inches on screen might sound nice, but it's not so nice to carry around.

My next laptop will be small and easy... I had good luck though, I got a small, nice laptop from school here, so I can have my gigantic one as desktop at my apartment.

thatguy · « **Reply #6 on:** April 06, 2007, 02:49:53 PM »

Quote from: NAzu on February 28, 2007, 07:28:27 PM

d) Best laptop cpu at the moment is Core 2 Duo or the older model Core Duo. Dual core cpu's, they don't heat much and great performance.

just a note, core 2 duo does give a very good performance-per-watt, but the cores are voltage-locked, so if you have your laptop on and only using one core (eg: running just one or two programs), the other core is still sucking up power. this isn't a terribly big concern for desktops which are plugged in anyway (unless you're paying your own power bill), but while the laptop-version of core2duo is already pretty power-efficient, it could help extend battery life so much more if individual cores could idle independantly.

Asmodai · « **Reply #7 on:** April 06, 2007, 08:45:37 PM »

Basically everything CTZ said. Get something light and with a good battery life.

Marks Spencer · « **Reply #8 on:** April 23, 2007, 10:11:18 AM »

I follow the "YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH A ...." approach.

For example, if you want something lightweight to carry around and show off your brand name notebook at cafes, then you can't go wrong with a Sony Vaio.

However, if like me, you wan't a desktop replacement with plenty of gaming and graphics grunt, then you can't go wrong with a Dell XPS.

Or you might have different answers to "YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH.....".?????

Asmodai · « **Reply #9 on:** April 23, 2007, 07:20:46 PM »

If you have more money than brains, you can't go wrong with a Ferrari brand laptop.

edhead999 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 23, 2007, 08:06:59 PM »

I have a Pentium 4 HT, and it's just horrible. It overheats and since i have an integrated video card, I can't really game on the computer. I'm hoping to get a new desktop soon >_>

mode107 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 23, 2007, 09:37:18 PM »

Dells are such b**ches. I highly suggest either a toshiba or apple mac brand.

Asmodai · « **Reply #12 on:** April 23, 2007, 09:55:42 PM »

Quote from: modesta107 on April 23, 2007, 09:37:18 PM

Dells are such b**ches. I highly suggest either a toshiba or apple mac brand.

But a Dell laptop will keep you warm at night.

frblckstr1 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 24, 2007, 05:01:30 AM »

Quote from: Asmodai on April 23, 2007, 09:55:42 PM

But a Dell laptop will keep you warm at night.

And a MacPro will keep your whole house warm

ferrar1 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 24, 2007, 05:53:26 AM »

my old ferrari 3000 kept me warm throughtout the winter season, and it had spare thermal energy to heat up my coffee

For those who think that dell is rubbish, i urge you to give them another chance. I have been liking my new Dell XPS M1210, though i had problems with their M series in the past.

I also love the conventional IBM laptops, especially the X series, the lightweights.

For me laptops = lightweights. I learnt this the hardway after lugging my old 3.2KG ferrari 3000 around.

vicmu · « **Reply #15 on:** April 24, 2007, 06:39:20 PM »

I'd suggest an Acer.
They feel a bit cheeply made (in the case) but they're a lot sturdier than they look.

The components inside an acer are currently the best bang for your buck.
if the processor says intel centrino/core or amd turion, you're good for decent power and battery life.
(minimum 2 hours)

whatever you do make sure you remove your battery when you have your computer plugged in and the battery is fully charged.
keeping your laptop plugged in for long periods with your battery still in is a good way to shorten your battery's lifespan and ability to hold a charge.

Marks Spencer · « **Reply #16 on:** April 25, 2007, 06:12:08 AM »

Quote from: Asmodai on April 23, 2007, 07:20:46 PM

If you have more money than brains, you can't go wrong with a Ferrari brand laptop.

How about Ferrari versus Asus Lamborghini ?

edhead999 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 28, 2007, 10:49:24 AM »

Quote from: ferrar1 on April 24, 2007, 05:53:26 AM

my old ferrari 3000 kept me warm throughtout the winter season, and it had spare thermal energy to heat up my coffee

For those who think that dell is rubbish, i urge you to give them another chance. I have been liking my new Dell XPS M1210, though i had problems with their M series in the past.

I also love the conventional IBM laptops, especially the X series, the lightweights.

For me laptops = lightweights. I learnt this the hardway after lugging my old 3.2KG ferrari 3000 around.

Off Topic: I'm thinking of getting an XPS soon

On Topic: The Satellites are really heavy (toshiba). If I could go back and buy a different laptopl/desktop I would in a heartbeat. With the Core 2 Duo, it should be relatively better, but most of the time they just overheat like hell. Although most of the people don't really like the dell tech support, their laptops are pretty good... especially the Inspirons.

Asmodai · « **Reply #18 on:** April 28, 2007, 04:44:45 PM »

Quote from: Marks Spencer on April 25, 2007, 06:12:08 AM

How about Ferrari versus Asus Lamborghini ?

I think Asus makes both brands. Their laptops are supposed to be pretty decent.

Since I use my laptop for internet and Word, next time I'm going for battery life and weight above all else though.

frblckstr1 · « **Reply #19 on:** April 28, 2007, 04:47:49 PM »

^ I want speed also, so I didn't go for a HP tx1030 (1.6GHz) if they had the 2GHz I might have, now I'll wait for Core 2 Duo's to come a bit down and try again.